Brawl breaks out at graduation party; 1 shot

A private graduation party at the Reynoldsburg High School gymnasium turned into a melee Saturday night in which one person was shot.

A private graduation party at the Reynoldsburg High School gymnasium turned into a melee Saturday night in which one person was shot.

Galvin Bonner, 19, a resident of Columbus' North Side, was treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to the foot and buttocks, said Reynoldsburg Police Chief David Suciu. Bonner was in fair condition at Grant Medical Center tonight.

Pickerington, Columbus, Gahanna and Whitehall police were called to help Reynoldsburg officers gain control of what witnesses described as a chaotic scene.

No arrests were made as of last night, and Reynoldsburg police are asking for help to try to find out who fired the shots.

Reynoldsburg school officials, parents and students say that outside agitators stirred up trouble.

"This was a real unfortunate thing. As far as we can tell, none of the kids who were involved in the violence were those who held the party or were invited," said Tricia Moore, spokeswoman for Reynoldsburg schools.

The families of Brandon Mitchell, Jaleel Washington and Jordan Thomas rented the gym for the graduation party.

Connie Gamble, a parent, said the three hosting the party were honor-roll students, athletes and "really good boys" who are college-bound.

The school required that a police officer, a security specialist and a school official be there - conditions that were met, Moore said. Parents also were on hand to chaperone.

"From what I understand that detectives are saying, there were a lot of people who showed up who weren't invited," Suciu said, noting that word of the party had spread on the social-networking site Facebook.

Some were asked to leave the party and no one was admitted after 10:45 p.m., Moore said.

The fight started inside the gym and was pushed outside. The shooting occurred in the parking lot, Suciu said. Multiple shots were fired, and some cars were sprayed with bullets.

Joshua Montgomery, 18, said Reynoldsburg Athletic Director Clint Fetty went to the microphone and told people that there had been an "incident" outside.

Montgomery said that shortly afterward, fights broke out around the gym. Chairs and speakers were tossed around. He estimated that about 30 people were involved in the fighting out of more than 200 in the gym.

"Most of the crowd was just trying to stay out of the way as people were trying to break it up," Montgomery said. "When police got there, it even got more out of hand."

Officers used mace to help bring the crowd under control.

Reynoldsburg school officials will not rent out facilities again until safety and security policies are reviewed, Moore said.

"We need to understand what went wrong here and make sure it doesn't happen again," she said.

Reynoldsburg Mayor Brad McCloud said he's looking for answers because this is the second shooting near the high school in recent months. A 16-year-old was shot on Baldwin Road on April 16. That shooting also was not fatal.

"This not acceptable to the citizens of Reynoldsburg, and it sure as hell is not acceptable to me," McCloud said.

Dispatch reporter Collin Binkley contributed to this story.

jwoods@dispatch.com

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